It’s the first Wednesday of the month and that means it’s time for the October meeting of “The Book Review Club,” hosted by Barrie Summy. For my review, I’ll be posting something about “The Ever Running Man” – a Sharon McCone mystery – by Marcia Muller. Marcia Muller’s web site says this:

cover_everrunningSharon McCone is hired by her husband’s security firm to track down ‘the ever-running man,’ a shadowy figure who has been leaving explosive devices at their various offices. She doesn’t have to search for long. When McCone narrowly escapes an explosion at the security firm’s San Francisco offices, she catches a glimpse of his retreating figure.

The ever-running man is dangerously close-and anyone connected to the firm seems to be within his deadly range. To complicate matters, McCone is forced to question her intensely private husband, Hy, about his involvement in some of the firm’s dark secrets. The history of corruption may jeopardize their marriage, but uncovering the secrets of the firm may be the only way she can save her husband’s life, and her own.

What I love about Marcia Muller’s writing is similar to what I love about Laura Caldwell: the characterization and personalization of the main character involved in solving bigger mysteries outside themselves, while affecting a change within themselves at the same time. I’m not a die-hard mystery or thriller fan, but I do love a mystery/suspense or psychological thriller told in a personal way and is most likely written in first person.

I’ve recently concluded that those who react strongly to first or third person may be influenced by their personality profile – some readers want the intimacy that comes from becoming the main character as written in first person, while others prefer the distance of participating more as an observer. Neither is wrong – it’s just personal.

The other thing I enjoy about the Sharon McCone series is that she is San Francisco-based with a history in all of California – from the Mendocino Coast, to the Sierra/high desert borders, down to San Diego. She references things relevant to California, the real California, which I understand, having my own history with the entire state, having lived in most of it and with family in the rest of it. Reading Sharon McCone allows me to revisit my California past without having to relive it. 🙂